Zeta Vortex: Fox Child 1: Silver Fire
by LA Knight
Summary: Kurama's heart belongs to a demon as cold as the glaciers, and Hiei's heart to a youkai as hot as a volcano. How odd is it that one little girl could bring them together? And what exactly is this kid, anyway? takes place before Dark Tournament. KH, OC?
1. Prologue

Fox Child **Prologue: Megumi**

He refused to be caught like this! Not this way! It was bad enough to have the job go down bad. It was worse that Kuronue, his best friend, and Koori, his beloved younger sister, had both died running from the guards.

The bastards might have gotten away with Kuronue's death, because the bat demon had turned back to snatch up his dropped garnet pendant, and when caught, when nearly dead, had ordered them both to run.

But Koori... he would avenge her death if it was last thing he did. His innocent, little sister, not even a hundred or so, still so much like a child to him. Oh, his sweet little white fox with her cobalt blue eyes. All he could see as he ran was her broken, little body, covered in blood, pierced by bamboo stakes, her gaze begging him to run even as her life gushed forth from her onto the ground. She had not turned back. She had been running. And she hadn't even had anything in her hands, none of the stolen goods. He, _Youko_ Kurama, had everything.

He stumbled when a stake caught him through the leg, and he fell. Snarling in rage, he ripped the thing from his body and threw it aside, running on and on until he collapsed, unable to go on. The guards were following the trail of his bright blood. He had to get up, but he was so tired from running. His legs screamed in pain as he staggered to his feet. He trudged a few more steps and fell... through a weak spot in the barrier between the worlds.

(Ten years later)

Shuichi, more commonly thought of as Kurama, was excited, though no one at his school could have told you that. He seemed calm and collected, but he went about his schoolwork with an uncharacteristic smile, soft and blissful, upon his handsome, young face, and walked with a strange bounce in his step. He was waiting for a very important phone call from his Mother's doctor, a call that would tell him the most wonderful news.

The phone on his _sensei's_ desk shrilled loudly, and made everyone but the red haired young boy jump with surprise. His teacher kept nodding as the person on the other end talked, and scribbling down the message on a yellow sticky pad.

"Shuichi, there's a message for you," his teacher called from her desk. She hung up the phone and handed her written message to the boy. "You're father is waiting outside for you at the office." The red-headed nine-year-old grinned and bowed to his _sensei_, then rushed out of the room.

His father did not wish to see his Mother, which should have concerned the boy, but really, Kurama was for once not totally absorbed in his Mother so much as what precious gift, what second chance, his Mother had for him.

Second chance? He shook his head, confused. A second chance at what? He wasn't sure, couldn't remember, but it gave him a strange sense of hope. He rushed into her hospital room and skidded to a halt. His mother was fine, lying in a white hospital bed smiling warmly at him.

"Hello, Shuichi, dear. Come here and see your new sister." Those words struck something deep within him. Long ago, more than a hundred years almost, another woman had said those words to him. She had had long, silver hair and blue eyes. His mother, he remembered vaguely. And in her arms had been a small girl baby, with soft, white hair, fluffy fox ears, and a bushy, white tail. Her brilliant, jewel eyes had been the color of purest sapphires.

Now, Kurama looked at this newborn child in his human mother's arms. If he had been like Hiei- he vaguely remembered Hiei from his past- he would have been disgusted, but all he could feel for this little human infant was love.

This was his sister.

She had short, scruffy red hair, just a shade lighter than his own. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green, just like his. She had a small, heart-shaped mouth that yawned widely when she saw him. Her tiny hand reached out and curled around his finger, and he gently shook her hand.

_I'm your brother. My name is Kurama. Do you have a name?_

He didn't expect to hear or feel anything on the telepathic link, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a strange feeling of recognition, some slight confusion, and a burst of love. She knew who he was, insomuch as he was someone good, someone who cared about her and would protect her, someone that she, too, cared about. She recognized him from all the times he had communicated with her, silently, before birth, telling her all about himself, what bits of his past he remembered, everything about their Mother and Father, the Four Worlds and their histories, things he had learned in school, everything he could think of.

But she did not know her own name. She did not know what a name was. He sensed her confusion when he mentioned that his name was Kurama. What did that mean, she seemed to ask?

_I will explain later._

"What is her name, Mother?"

"Her name is Megumi."


	2. chapter 1

**The Guardian Angel**

"Oh, gilly golly gosh, what time is it? Ah! Kama, I'm gonna be late for school!" Stuffing on her shoes, the red head raced up the stairs and stopped in front of her brother's door. "Kama?" She pushed the door open. "Ka-ma? Are you 'kay?" All she could see of her brother was a shock of red hair sticking out from underneath a dark green blanket, and beneath the blanket, a lumpy, vaguely human shape. A slender hand waved from under the blanket. "Kama, I gossa go da school."

"Megling, I am unable to take you today. I'm not feeling well."

"Oh. 'Kay. Hope you feel beddew. Bye, Kama, I wuv you!" She stuffed on her little white shoes and raced out the door.

"Hey, look, it's the _freak_!" Megumi clutched her books more tightly to her chest and continued walking at the same pace. She would not let these insignificant insects get to her. "Where's your _Mommy_ today, Freak? Where's your _Mommy_?" She lifted her chin, stared straight ahead, and kept walking. She didn't stop until one of the boys knocked her books out of her arms. She knelt to pick them up, not saying a word. She lifted up her Algebra 2 book, her Literature Book, and tried to pick up her copy of _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,_ but Monten stepped on it, and refused to move his foot.

Megumi gazed up at the ten-year-old without anger, without fear. She just stared at him, wondering if standing on one foot was making him tired. "You think you're so flippin' smart, don't you! Smarter than us! Is that what you think, huh?" Megumi blinked her big, crystalline green eyes.

"No, Monten," she said quietly, knowing he could hear. "No, I do not think I am smarter than you or the other kids. I know for a fact that I am. And you know it, as well, or else you would not bother with your daily taunting, the teasing. You would not bother with me, because I would be no threat to you. You know that I am smarter. I have better grades. I have a higher reading level. I read faster than you. I have a higher level of intelligence than you. My IQ is higher than yours. Because of all of these things, you feel inferior. Not only am I a girl, and that mortally wounds your pride, but I am also only six years old. That completely and utterly destroys that narcissistic image of yourself that you shelter in your pathetic little mind. Now, get off my book."

"Or what, Freak?"

"Or I'll slit you open like a fish, rip out your steaming entrails, and feed them to my dog." Monten stepped back, shocked. It never occurred to him that she might not have a dog.

She picked up her book and shouldered past him. He tripped her, and she sprawled on the sidewalk, scraping her arms, her forehead, and her nose, as well as splitting her lip. She spat blood, got up, and walked calmly over to the sniggering Monten. Taking a breath, she slapped him so hard he nearly fell over, and he spat out a couple teeth. They'd probably been loose, anyway.

"Don't touch me." Megumi's voice was ice. She spat blood again, and the red stuff landed on his shirt, soaking into his green uniform. She kicked him in both shins, then picked up her stuff and walked away from him, sucking on the blood oozing from her swollen lip.

Watching the house where Kurama lived, Hiei waited for the _Kitsune_ to come out, or to come back from wherever he went to in the mornings before school. He opened his _Jagan_, and saw Kurama lying in bed, asleep. His cheeks were dusted with a feverish blush, and Hiei could tell the fox demon was sick. Well, in a while, he'd come back and check on him.

_What is that?_ The _Jaganshi_ felt a brief flare of _ki_, neither _reiki_ nor _youki_, and turned to figure out from whence it came. He sensed the life energy of a young human child, a little girl, who was also the wielder of that strange _ki_. He could sense fear, panic. He also sensed the _youki_ of carrion eaters, _Fugaki_. Oh, he hated _Fugaki_, and his honor would not allow him to let an innocent child die.

She was in so much trouble.

"Well, well. A pretty little human girl." The child cowered against a wall, frightened. The midgets in the purple hoods came closer, claws fumbling through the air to come within inches of her trembling body. They shuffled nearer, pressing in around her. The breath of the _Fugaki_, for she knew them to be the disgusting demonic carrion eaters, was rancid, making her wrinkle her nose. They scuttled towards her, and she tripped over a piece of plywood trying to back up.

She was in trouble.

"She'll be delicious, won't she? Nice and tender…"

"Go 'way! Get 'way fum me! Leave me 'lone!" She shrank back farther, whimpering. Where was her brother? Where was Kurama? He always came to her rescue. Where was he?

Megumi screamed as a filthy talon raked down her cheek, as something hot flashed around her body. It burned fiercely, bringing tears to her eyes. There was poison in those claws, she knew. She could feel it. She wouldn't be able to defend herself… like her brother could.

She was helpless.

She was terrified.

She was about to be rescued, she realized, as a strong _youki_ hit her senses. It nearly slammed her off her feet, and made her head buzz with excitement. What the… that wasn't her brother! But maybe, just maybe, this person would help her.

She cried out in pain as one Fugaki slammed a blade through her shoulder, effectively pinning her, and then reared back its hand, ready to slit her throat. She was dead, the person hadn't come, she hadn't gotten to say goodbye to her Mommy or her brother….

"Let her go." Megumi's eyes went wide. A man, about one and a half times her size, with pretty, red eyes that glittered like glacial rubies, glared at the _Fugaki_. He drew a glimmering katana, with edges that gleamed and a point needle sharp. "_Now_, or you pay with your lives."

The carrion-eating demon pulled the blade from Megumi's shoulder, and she clasped a hand to it, keening softly in pain. She hit her knees on the pavement. The man walked towards her, and the _Fugaki_ scuttled out of his way. He picked her up and jumped, far away from the carrion eaters.

Where was he going? Megumi was worried, but not truly afraid. She knew instinctively he wouldn't hurt her. He wanted to help.

"That injury needs treatment, little one. I will treat it, and any others."

"But I gossa go da school."

"I will get you there. But do not fight me when I am caring for you, or it will take quite awhile."

"I no fight healers," she said defiantly, "cause if I do, mommy whacks me on da head wif a _shukusen_."

"You're mother seems to be very intelligent, as far as mothers go."

"Shiz. She makes games."

"Hn. Can you use shukusen?"

"Yeah, but not s'well as her."

"Hn."

"You don't say lots, huh? My brudder says dare are two peoples who don't have stuff da say. Mean ol' bad guys who're too busy wif sumfin mean da say lots, an den nice guys who tink ashens talk morin words an oni talk when it's 'portant. I tink you da second one."

"Hn." Megumi sighed, then asked innocently, "Are you a angel?"

"No, I am not."

"Yes... _yes, you are_," she said hurriedly. "You knew I was in tubble, an you save me. Oni a angel kin do that, so ya gossa be a angel. You're my garden angel, huh?"

"No, I am not." He felt a strange warmth spreading through his chest, and heat flooded his cheeks. She thought he was an angel?

"I tink you are. Oni an angel look handsome when they blush." Her voice was somehow different now...

"I am _not_ blushing. And why did you ask, if you already knew the answer?"

"It was a rhetorical question, dummy."

_She knows what rhetorical means?_ "That's not a nice thing to say to your guardian angel."

"I spose not. Sorry."

"That's… that's okay."

"I'm Megumi Minamino. What is your name?"

"Hiei."

"Shuichi, I love you! I wanna have your baby! Marry me, Shuichi!" The red head blushed furiously. He didn't know why he picked his sister up from her school every day, since this happened every. Single. God. Damned. Time. For God's sake, there were older girls practically having orgasms just _looking_ at him! Three or four of the teachers were leaning against walls, screaming his name. It was like he was Pooty Tang or something! He had no idea why he did this.

Or, maybe he did, he thought to himself. He smiled, warmth filling him from his head to the tips of his toes as a soft, small hand slipped itself into his. Beautiful, trusting green eyes looked up at him from an adorable angel's face.

"Would you like to vacate the premises now?" She asked him, grinning like a hyena as one of the older girls began walking toward him purposefully, wearing a very slim wedding dress. She sported a sign that read, "Mrs. Shuichi Minamino." Megumi looked highly amused. The two demons in hiding glanced at the girl, then at each other. Megumi grinned as her brother turned even redder.

"Please, let's." They ran.

"You were attacked by _what!_"

"_Fugaki_. But my guardian angel saved me. Just in time."

"And her name?"

"_His_ name. Hiei." Her brother stopped walking. She looked back at him. "Kama?"

"Did he _say_ his name was Hiei?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he did. He's really a nice guardian angel, and oh, so very handsome. He's _divine_. When I get older, maybe he'll be my husband. Unless you want him." Megumi knew of his preference for boys. "And, he fixed my shoulder for me, healed it all up." Maybe she was talking about a different Hiei, because the Hiei he knew, while divinely handsome, wasn't nice.

"He has blue black hair, like a shadow... like Atreyu, from _Never Ending Story_, only his sticks straight up in the air, and he has red eyes like garnets, like Zane Cobrianna from _Hawksong _and_ Snakecharm_. He doesn't talk all that much, really, but I suppose that we understand each other alright."

That was Hiei, alright. He was so astounded, he didn't even notice that his sister was talking like a grown-up again, as she did only around people she very much trusted. She never spoke like this around their mother, even. But, he was still thinking about Hiei.

"R-really?"

"Yes. Kama, are you feeling alright? You look so dreadfully pale all of a sudden. Is something the matter?" She gazed up at him, startled. She frowned, and her little forehead creased with worry wrinkles.

"No, no, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine." He needed to have a long chat with Hiei, he decided. A nice, long chat.


	3. Chapter 2

**Pizza with the Reikai Tantei **

"Kurama, there's some girl here to see you," the ogre reported. Hiei felt a pang, thinking, _A girl to see _my_ fox…what does she want?_ Kurama walked out, and Hiei felt his chest grow tight. Damn fox, single, was he? He'd show him. Or not, he thought stupidly, as Kurama walked back in with something sitting on his shoulders, and two boys following him, both being about fourteen, looking like they'd rather be in hell than here.

The thing on his shoulders, which happened to be a little girl, slid down to the ground and stared at the floor. She only lifted her head when Keiko cried, "Oh, my… goodness!"

That was an understatement, Hiei thought, surprised. He recognized the poor, abused waif clutching the kitsune's knees for dear life.

"Kurama, who's this adorable little girl?" Botan exclaimed. The poor child, maybe five or six, was covered in bruises. Her hair and face were dirty, and her pink shirt and purple overalls were torn. Yusuke and the others stared at her. She looked just like Kurama! Her red hair, almost the same shade as his, was tied off into two braids, woven with green ribbons. Her eyes were the same huge emerald eyes as Kurama's.

She sniffled, then sighed in annoyance and looked around. Kurama handed her a box of tissues, and she blew her nose and used spit to clean her face. While she did all this, Kurama watched the two human boys cowering in fear.

"Now listen, Minamino, this was _her_ fault. She was beating up our little brothers, and we tried to get her to stop, but-"

"She just wouldn't quit, and so, we had to use… had to… use… force, I mean… um…"

"See, we were nice… and we tried… talking… but she wouldn't listen, so we had to… uh…" The Spirit Detectives backed away as Kurama clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. He face was hard, and his anger was all too apparent. Rage pounded through him with every beat of his heart. Those bastards… those filthy, disgusting, human _bastards_! He struggled to keep his voice even.

"You sons of bitches beat up a seven year old child, a helpless little girl, because she was _defending_ a friend of hers from those two _fucked up_ individuals you call brothers! If you ever, _ever_ touch my sister again, Hell will freeze over before my wrath diminishes in the slightest. Your lives will be forfeit. Now get out before I kill you. Go crawl under a mountain and rot."

The two teenagers scampered away, tripping over each other in their haste. Everyone stared at Kurama in fear save the girl, who wrapped her arms around his knees and hugged him.

"S'okay, Kama, m'okay."

"No. No, you are not. I will kill them if they do this to you again." He sighed, his expression softening as the girl rubbed her face against his knees, murmuring, "Kama" in adoration.

"Uh, Kurama-" Yusuke began.

"Kitsune no baka, who is this?" Hiei asked, gesturing to the girl. He already knew, but it was the kind of question the others would expect him to ask.

Megumi jumped at the sound of his voice, and stared at Hiei for the longest moment. He tried reading her thoughts, and immediately felt like the scum of the earth when he heard, _Why didn't he save me? He's my guardian angel, why didn't he help me?_ Her face crumpled, her eyes filling with tears.

"Hey, Shrimp, cut it out! You're scaring her!"

"Be silent, fool," Hiei snapped, then whispered in Megumi's mind, _'Foxling, please... I was not aware that you were in danger. Little one, I... please, do not be vexed with me. I am so sorry.'_ Megumi wiped her tears away before rushing over and hugging him, too. Hiei awkwardly patted the girl's back and murmured, "Thank you, Foxling."

"Angel." Hiei blushed bright red. Kurama tried not to laugh. Yusuke and the others stared at the trio in confusion. Angel? "My angel," the little girl cooed in adoration. O-kay, right… Hiei, an angel… sure….

"Kurama? Who's this?" Kuwabara asked, blinking in a dazed kinda way.

"This is my younger sister, Megumi. Bad day at school, darling?" The girl nodded and attempted to brush her hair out of her face. She winced as a sore arm refused to move. "Defending Miyu from the boys again?" She nodded, looking guilty. Kurama sighed and lifted her into his arms. Gently bouncing her, he murmured, "Maybe we shouldn't have let you skip all those grades. I'll talk to Mother about putting you back in the first grade-"

"NO! Kama, I likes bein' a fif gradew! Da work's all fun, an I'm not bored no mores."

"Anymore," he corrected absently. "But, Meg, the other kids are so much bigger than you. You've come home with bruises, broken bones, and rope burns. I am not letting this continue." At her pleading look, he changed the subject. "What did Jerome hit you with this time?"

"Baseball bat."

"And Ryoshi?"

"Lunchbox."

"What about Kevin?"

"Math book."

"Did they tie you up this time?" She showed him her wrist, which had impressions from rubber bands. "Did they get in trouble?"

"No. They tol' Miss Cook I did it, an they was defennin' demsells."

"Those three are ten god damn fucking years old! Defending themselves, huh?" She nodded sorrowfully. "I'm gonna have some things to say to their parents. Bunch of bastards."

"Ya know dat's two bucks, right?" The fox sighed and handed her two, one dollar bills. When Megumi spoke again, she used her adult voice. "And you know that nothing you say will make any difference. I'm still going to be in trouble. I'm a bad kid."

"No, you are _not_. Don't think that."

"Not _my_ thoughts. Theirs. You know, Kama. 'Civil blood makes civil hands unclean.' Their 'blood,' my 'hands.' You know, Kama. 'Civil blood makes civil hands unclean.' Shakespeare said it." The fox demon sighed, kissing the top of her head. He didn't know what to say to her.

"Megumi, you want to come with me and my friends? We could get some ice cream, some pizza."

"Oh, really? You bet your sweet lunch money!"

Megumi squeaked and ducked behind Kurama. "Kama, it's them."

"Where?"

"Over there, by the mirror."

"Don't worry, kid, they'd be crazy to mess with ya with us around." Kuwabara said. "I, the mighty Kazuma Kuwabara, shall protect you." Megumi laughed and slipped her other hand into Kuwabara's. He smiled at her. "Hey, do you like cats?"

"Oh, yes, whole lots. They're real smart, huh?"

"Yep. Smarter than dogs. Do you have a cat?"

"Hm-hm, lots. I take care of 'em at da park, and Kama and me talked wif da pound, to leave 'em alone if dey have red and gween collars."

"Red and green, huh? Which kitty's your favorite?"

"Um… Rosy… no, Fluffy… huh. I prawlly hafta stand on my head ta find out. Ooh! I knows. I absitively, posolutely adore Mister Cozgrove! Do you haffa kitty?"

"Yeah. She's my second favorite person."

"Who's your mostest?"

"My girlfriend, Yukina." Megumi looked over at the Ice Apparition, nodded her approval.

"One day, when I grow up, I'm gonna be juss as bootiful as Yukina, and Botan, and Keiko. Then, I'll find me a nice superhero, get married, and we'll be spies for Russia! And every week or so, I'll say, 'Husband, I wanna save da world.' And he'll sigh and say, 'Again? Precious, it's old.' Then I'll pout and he'll agree and we'll go off on a mission. Yeah." Kurama lifted her up and set her in her chair. She was too short to reach it on her own. The others sat too.

"So, Megumi. You're in the fifth grade?" Keiko asked.

"Yeah. It's boring in maff and English, and science, too, but da school board won't let me skip no more. I'm sposa be in nine, but da school don't see it Mommy's way."

"So, you know all the way up to ninth? What's a megaparsec?"

"Keiko, she's not gonna know that. Give her something easy, like 24 divided by 8. Which is, um…"

"Three."

"Thanks. Whoa, wait a sec… okay, this is something I can't do. If you have the binomial x plus 4, multiplied by x minus four, what's the answer, and what does x equal?"

"X equals negative 4 and positive four. The binomials multiply out to be x squared minus sixteen."

"Is that right, Keiko?"

"Yes," the girl murmured in shock, "yes, it is. Okay, what is the factorization of x squared minus x minus twelve?"

"X minus 4 times x plus 3. X equals negative three and positive four."

"Jeez. Okay, science, then-"

"No, Keiko, we're about to eat."

"Yusuke, shut up. Okay, science. Well… geography, really. What sea on earth cannot sustain life?"

"The Dead Sea, in Jordan."

"Where are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?"

"Iraq, I think."

"Okay, real science. What does the word arthropod mean, and what arthropod has five pairs of walking legs?"

"Many footed, and crustaceans."

"What are the three colors of light, and what is the difference between black and white when talking about light, and talking about pigments?"

"Red, green, and blue. Black is the absence of all light, or when you combine all pigment. White is the absence of all pigment, or when you combine all light."

"Kami, she's good. What's the nerve in your eye called?"

"Retina... I think. No, optic nerve."

"What's an aphid?"

"A nasty little bug that lives in the hearts of roses."

"Um… let's do English. What's a simile, metaphor, and an allegory?"

"Simile is when you compare two different things, using like or as, and a metaphor is when you say something is something, when it obviously isn't, like… kittens are soft, fluffy pillows. An allegory is where you take an event or idea and explain or display it using animals, such as the book _Animal Farm_. I read that book. Kinda creepy."

"I'm leaving this alone for now. Oh, one last thing. This is a trick question, but it does kinda have an answer. What is the question that has no answer?"

"What is truth? That question has no answer."

"Jeez, she's good! Kurama, your sister's practically a genius. How old are you?"

"Six."

"Spell difficulty."

"Um… let me see a sec… D-I-F-F-I… ooh… C-U-L-T…Y. Difficulty."

"Okay, you can have your pizza… whatcha readin'?"

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I've got 15 pages left." Kurama exclaimed, "But… you only got that yesterday! And it has 870 pages!"

"And soon I'll be done. Shh, I'm reading!"


	4. Chapter 3

The Present- Sleepover, Ice Cream, And Disney Movies 

"Huh…? Oh! Angel! Yay!" The small redheaded girl ran to the fire demon and threw her arms around him. "What's you doing here? Are you here ta see Kama?" Hiei nodded, trying not to smile. He loved the way she talked, for some reason. It struck him as being so cute.

Megumi put her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow. His lips twitched. She said coolly, "You do realize, I can speak as an adult anytime that I so wish, do you not? Because if you don't, I'm afraid you might be in for some interesting problems." He snorted, and she threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Come on," she said, sighing dramatically, and she dragged him inside. "Mommy's not here rye now, but she say if my friends come we get pizza en ice cream. And cake."

"Why do you have that stuff?"

"Is my burfday," she proclaimed proudly. Hiei hit his foot against an invisible wall and croaked, "Your birthday?" She nodded. "H-happy birthday. How old are you now?"

"Theven. Ditcha bring me a present?" A present? Oh, shit. And Kurama had told him about it, too! Why had he forgotten? Why did he care?

"I will bring it later."

"Din't buy me nothing, ditcha?"

"Well, um…" he looked down at her kind, understanding face and blushed. "No. What would you like?" Megumi looked thoughtful, then said, "Spend night here, watch movies, eat, hang. You, me, Kama. Willya?" He bit his lip. Spend the night here? With Kurama? The silver _Kitsune_? That was asking for a helluva lot of trouble. He couldn't do it. No. Then he look at Megumi, smiling up at him, eyes shining with a gentle light. He shouldn't do it. He couldn't. It wasn't fair to have to put himself through the torment.

"Alright."

"Hey, Kama! Ka-ma! Hiei's here! He's spending the night." Kurama dropped his spoon, which hit the table with a small _tink_! "You want some pizza, Hiei?"

"I, uh…" He looked at Kurama for assistance. Should he say yes? What the hell was pizza, anyway? Kurama caught his eye and nodded almost imperceptibly. "Sure." Megumi, it seemed, was a veteran hostess, and she set a plate with a single slice of pizza in front of him on the counter after he told her he preferred standing.

"Water, milk, cider, or soda?"

"You have cider?"

"I'm the only one who drinks it, I won't let Kama have any." Kurama snorted, muttering under his breath, "That's because you're greedy, and I spoil you."

"Only 'cause ya love me so much. Cider, than? Okay. We got double black cherry ice cream if you- OH! KU-RA-MA." She enunciated his name ever so carefully, eyeing him. Her brother leaned forward, chin in his hands and elbows on the table, smiling slightly. Hiei shivered when Kurama arched an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth curved into a lazy grin. The fox looked very appealing like that.

"Hmm?"

"You promised."

"Hmm?"

"You swore you'd make me a quadruple cherry sundae."

"I did, didn't I? Then, I surely shall. Get out the ice cream and stuff. Then, get me some cake, and Hiei, if he wants any." The half-_Koorime_ nodded.

Kurama stood, walked gracefully to the kitchen counter, and began scooping ice cream into a bowl. Hiei eyed it warily, then smiled slightly as Megumi plopped herself between them, eating a slice of strawberry cake. She grinned at both of them, and her grin became Cheshire Cat-like when her brother asked, "Where's my cake, Megumi?"

"On the other counter, but I don't want crumbs in my cherry sundae, so you can have it later."

"Oh, is that right?" Megumi's big green eyes grew bigger, and she batted her thick, black lashes at her brother, murmuring, "Please?" Kurama sighed, rolled his eyes, and began applying cherry sauce to his sister's sundae, muttering, "Only because you're my favorite baby sister."

The child giggled, then asked Hiei, "You wanna piece?" Which was how Hiei found himself eating strawberry cake. He had to admit, from his tiny experience of sweets, it was pretty good. "My mommy made it, she's a professional cook. Or was. Now she designs computer games and writes books."

"Doesn't sound like she has a lot of time for you." The ruby-eyed demon tried to sound nonchalant, but Kurama's eyes flicked over to him. Megumi shook her head.

"She's not around much, but she there when I need her, or when Kama does. Speaking of my brother, are you done yet?" Hiei tried to suppress a grin. His gaze locked with Kurama's, and the fox rolled his eyes as if to say, _See? Ungrateful thing._ Seeing their look, Megumi cried, "Hey, I am grateful! I just want my ice cream."

"Eat your cake." Megumi sighed and ate the last bite. "Here." Her brother sat a large bowl in her hands. Hiei sent a thought to the fox.

_Can she eat all that?_

_Yes. Don't let her size fool you, she's a walking bottomless pit. Be wary of the vortex that is my sister's mouth. It sucks in anything it thinks is edible._

"Hey, I can hear you."

"What's ice cream?" Hiei asked. Megumi stared at him, the cried, "You don't know what ice cream is? So that means you've never had any, I presume? Yeesh… okay, ice cream, um… it's like… sweet snow, with honey and sugar in it, and in this case, diced black cherries, sprinkles, cherry sauce, whip cream, and nine, nice big, fat, red cherries, with the stems on how I like, and… oh, wait, that's it. Want some? You'll like it."

"Indeed? I don't think so."

"Not afraid, are you, Hiei?" Kurama asked leaning back on the opposite counter, smiling lazily. The other demon swallowed when the fox's thin, green silk shirt stretching across his taut muscles. That image…

"Not on your life."

"Okay." Megumi said. "If you want some, here, if not, I'll eat it when I'm done with the Great Cherry Whale," both older demons snickered, "but don't eat it too fast!" She added hastily, nipping a cherry off its stem. "You'll get brain freeze." He looked at her blankly. "Headache. Very bad mojo on the thinking blob in your otherwise unused storage space that is normally full of dead flies and bits of fluff." Hiei's eyebrows rose, and he looked at Kurama, who mouthed, "She reads too much."

"Kama, I can _see_ you. Be quiet. Angel, you like?" Hiei merely nodded, then closed his eyes as he took another bite, savoring the taste of the ice cream. Megumi grinned at Kurama. "It's his first time," she said with a straight face, looking solemn… or as solemn as possible while grinning. Her brother choked on his spoon. Spitting it out, he stared at her and laughed along with Hiei.

"What? What'd I say? What's so funny? Hey!"

"Meg, go change into your pajamas if your done with your ice cream." She looked at her brother and her angel, confused, then shrugged, muttering, "Whatever. Men. Jus' a sec…" She messily licked her bowl clean and deposited it in the sink. Then, singing "Three Blind Mice" she marched upstairs.

"You're off key!"

"Shut up, I am not! I sing better than you!" Kurama laughed, and Hiei's heart clenched at the look of love and adoration on his face. The fox glanced at Hiei and shrugged, smiling happily.

"My sister."

"You're lucky."

"I know. She's so… I don't know… happy."

"She loves you."

"She loves you too, Hiei. Don't think she doesn't."

"Does she?" Kurama rolled his eyes. Hiei could be a bit thick sometimes. He didn't catch the unasked question: _Do you?_

"Hiei, Megumi positively adores you, her friends Gustav and Melvin says she's revolting."

"I can fix their attitudes."

"No," Megumi glided down the last step and slipped the last button into its hole, "I can whip them both on my own. Like my jammies?" She was wearing a large red silk shirt with sleeves that went way below her fingertips, and a pair of dark green shorts. On her feet were green, fuzzy bunny slippers. Oddly enough, she looked…

"You look pretty."

"Oh, cool. I feel the love." She grinned. "Can we watch _Beauty and the Beast_? Please? And _Thumbelina_?" Kurama cleared his throat.

"I don't know if Hiei would like those movies."

"Oh, sure he would, wouldn't you, Angel?"

"Um…" Megumi grabbed both of them and dragged them into the living room.

"Is she a bad guy?" Hiei asked quietly. Megumi nodded, murmuring, "Mrs. Toad, yeah. And her three sons. Look." Kurama looked over at the two of them and shook his head. Hiei was a bigger kid than he'd thought. The demon's blood red eyes were wide, transfixed on the screen, as Mrs. Toad informed Thumbelina she'd be marrying her son. Kurama had to smile; weird as it was, Kurama himself liked this movie almost as much as Megumi did. It was strange, considering he was a centuries old Kitsune. But, hey, Hiei liked the movie too, so he didn't have to worry about looking stupid.

Me: Aren't they sweet? Hiei loves Kurama! How cute!

Hiei: She's lying, I feel no attraction at all to Kurama. And that brat annoys me to death.

Megumi runs in

Meg: Angel! hugs him I luv you. Hiei blushes and murmurs unintelligible stuff about sweet girls and angel kids and how he used to hate kids

Me: You're sad, Hiei. But so cute. And don't feel bad. She had the same effect on Toguro.

Hiei: What's that mean?

Me: Figure it out.


	5. Chapter 4

**Confrontations, Big and Small**

"Can we watch _the Pebble and the Penguin_, Kama, please?"

"Megumi, we just watched two of your movies, can't we do something else, please?" The little red head looked from Hiei to her brother, shocked. Who in their right mind would not want to watch _the Pebble and the Penguin_? It was one of the most romantic cartoons on the planet. She had to see Hubie woo Marina tonight, she had to! It would totally make the evening!

"No way, Kama."

"Megumi," Kurama fell to his knees, then lay himself prostrate on the carpet, "please, please, can't we do something else? Please, Megling, I'm begging you, no more, please!" Megumi sighed and shook her head. Then, she walked over to the couch, grabbed her Sailor Moon pillow, and hit Kurama across the back of the head with it. "Hey! Oh, you want a pillow fight, do you? Hiei, please be on my side!"

"Nuh-uh, Hiei's on my side! And we watch the movie at midnight." Kurama glanced at the clock. It was eleven thirty.

"I'm on Megumi's side," Hiei said, catching the fox's attention.

"Hey! Ow! Who am I supposed to be, chopped liver?"

"You're the evil minion of the Negaverse," Megumi said quickly, then hit him again. Kurama cried, "Hey, you have to say the speech!" The girl raised the pillow, took a fighting stance, and replied, "I am Sailor Moon! I fight for love, and I also fight for justice. In the name of the moon, I shall punish you! Now, to quote Sailor Moon, 'Take that, sleeze-meister!'" Hiei didn't even have to pick up a pillow, not that he could have if he wanted, he was laughing so hard. Megumi had Kurama crawling away on his knees, and finally, when Kurama touched the small pink and gold Sailor Moon scepter (Hiei recognized it from Megumi's description) the little girl cried, "No, my wand!" Kurama lifted Megumi up and slung her over his shoulder. "Ah! Oh, no, my wand! Sailor scouts, help! Hiei, rescue me! The Negaverse's got me!"

"Ah-ah, he cannot, he is trapped inside the Vortex." Megumi looked over at Hiei, eyes searching for the vortex, ignoring the demon doubled up with laughter at the brother and sister's antics. Kurama flipped her around like a baton and then slung her over his other shoulder.

"What vortex?" His sister demanded.

"That vortex," he said vaguely.

"Oh. Ahhh, help, Sailor Scouts, the evil minionoid has trapped me! Ya know what, minion, do your worst!"

"Oh, I will!" Kurama spun her around for a few minutes. When he stopped, Megumi blinked rapidly.

"My bunny slippers are coming off. Do you expect me to talk, evil minion?"

"No, Miss Sailor Moon, I expect you… can I say the entire thing, or will you get mad?"

"Say it! Say it if you dare! Do you expect me to talk?"

"No, Sailor Moon, I expect you to die!"

"Never give up, never surrender! Ah, no, not the evil Nega vortexy thingy!" Kurama dropped the seven-year-old on the couch. "You may have won the battle, evil minion of Queen Beryl, but you'll never win the war between the Negaverse and the Moon Kingdom! Okay, I'm done." Hiei fell on the couch beside her and hugged her, the first time he'd ever done so.

"We'll… we'll get him next time, eh?" He asked, laughing.

"Yeah!" Kurama grinned as Megumi's small, childlike arms wrapped around Hiei and hugged him. Her emerald eyes closed in childish rapture, and she rubbed her cheek against his side. "I love you, Hiei."

"I…" The ruby eyes went wide as what she'd said sank in, but he couldn't say the word, not yet, even though he did… "And I you, sweetling." Kurama's green eyes locked with Hiei's red ones, the _youko_ smiling at the shock and sweet pleasure pain of Hiei's expression. This little innocent one loved the Forbidden Child? Hiei hugged her hard. "You're a sweet little girl, Megumi. You're wonderful."

"What's wrong, Hiei?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Anyway, what do you want to do now?"

"Wanna play chess, anyone?"

"Ah-hem, I know better than to play wizard's chess with you, chibi kit," Kurama exclaimed. "Not quite that dense, after having my butt kicked twelve times in a row."

"Sissy."

"What?"

"Sis-see, want me to spell it for you?"

"Ooh, ooh, you little…" He knew she was kidding, Hiei could tell Kurama knew, they were playing with each other. The fox gave a fake pout, and suddenly Hiei could barely keep himself from kissing that expression right off his face. "Fine, I'll play. Where's the… Meg, where did that come from?" Her head shot up.

"What? This?" She pointed at a bruise on her arm. "I hit the coffee table."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kama, positive… oh, wait, only fools are positive. Anyway, here's the chess board, I'm white, okay?"

"You're _always_ white!"

"It's _my_ chess set. Pawn One to E4." The white pawn, seemingly on its own accord, moved to it's ordained position. Hiei stared. This was going to be an interesting game.

Megumi was singing, " 'It's not the pebble, it's the penguin! And no matter if his pebble is clever, handsome, or blue, I'll now and forever be his! Do you take this pebble, now and forever? Do you take this penguin, now and forever?' "

"Meg, stop singing and watch the flippin' movie!"

"It hasn't even really started yet!"

"Alright, alright. Sing."

" 'Because it's not the pebble, it's the penguin! No matter if his pebble is dashing, or witty, or charming, you see, I'll now and forever be his! Oh, Hubie... you're the penguin... for me.' "

Kurama and Hiei exchanged a glance and shook their heads. Megumi was so strange, sometimes, although she did have a lovely voice.

"Why does she like this movie so much?"

"It's a romantic musical about fluffy, cute penguins and a shiny green rock from outer space, with a happy ending and a kiss, and she's a seven year old girl. She reacts to some other movies like this."

"Like what?"

"_The Aristocats_."

"Not gonna ask."

"Oh... Meg, I thought we were gonna watch the movie."

"We will, Kama, when I sing through the songs first. 'Look how we get along together! We're best buddies, we're best friends! You try to be as tough as leather, but now I know it's just pretend! We'll stick together, thick and thin, right through the end! Hey, Buddy! Looks like we're best of pals forever! Looks like I got me a friend! Now you try! Hit it, Rocko!' "

"She's an interesting kid."

"I know, Hiei, trust me. She's out of her ever loving mind." Hiei and Kurama stared at each other for a second, then watched Megumi boogying to the music from the movie, before they burst out giggling like teenage girls. The collapsed against each other, unable to do anything but laugh silently as they watched the bizarre antics of Kurama's sister. The giggles subsided as both demons realized where they were.

Hiei's head was resting on Kurama's stomach, and he could feel the heat from the kitsune's body, more aware of it than he'd ever been before. Kurama felt the faintest stirrings of desire in his body, and darted a nervous glance at Hiei, who was in a similar predicament. His hand slid across Hiei's chest as he caressed his suddenly taut, hard nipple with his thumb. Hiei bit back a moan as his body went tight and hard, as his swollen cock screamed for relief from the kitsune's touch, his hot, wet mouth... his hot, wet body, perhaps.

_Whoa!_

Hiei and Kurama leapt up together at retreated to separate bathrooms, staying there until Megumi, concerned and somewhat amused, came to get them.

"Megumi, you all comfy?"

"Yes." The little girl yawned and snuggled under the emerald green blanket. "Night, Kama. Night, Hiei. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Both demons exchanged looks and grinned, amused. Kurama waited until her eyes had drifted closed, then kissed her forehead, smoothed back her hair, and shut the door to her room.

"Goodnight, _chibi itoshi_. May _tenshi_ watch over you in your dreams." He murmured softly.

"Kurama…"

"Hmm?"

"Nothing." The fire demon looked away.

"Are you alright, Hiei?" The demon nodded, murmured, "I just wonder… the way you two are… could Yukina and I have been like that, if…and then I think, could I have had anyone who loves me the way Megumi loves you…"

"You have someone who loves you, Hiei." Kurama murmured earnestly. The half-_Koorime_ snorted in derision.

"Yeah? Who?"

"Well… someone must love-"

"Who, Kurama?" He demanded angrily, voice low. "Yukina? Megumi? You? Please." The fox followed Hiei up to his own room.

"You do make it hard to love you, Hiei." The fox demon sat down on his bed, watching the other _youkai_ leaning against the wall.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean… well, except for Megumi and Yukina, you tend to push people away." Kurama opened his mouth to add more, but Hiei growled and the _kitsune's_ mouth snapped shut.

"Really? No one's ever tried to get close to me, except for those two, so you haven't the slightest fucking idea what you're talking about."

"Hiei-"

"Shut the fuck up, Kurama."

"_Gomen._"

"Don't apologize, either, baka. What's the deal with you and Megumi?" Kurama blinked and asked, "What does that mean? We're brother and sister. I love her. I indulge her because she's little. I respect her because despite her age, she can carry on a fairly adult conversation when she wants to, and she's intelligent. I don't deserve her, true, but I have her, so more power to me."

"Hn. Aren't you the damn lucky one?"

"Hiei-"

"Shut _up_, fox." Kurama fell silent, confused. Why was Hiei so upset all of a sudden? "Why not you?"

"Hiei?"

"Why didn't you ever try to get close to me? Was I not worth the effort? Don't you like me now that I'm not useful to you anymore?"

"Oh, bullshit, Hiei. Shut up." Kurama bit his tongue when his words echoed back to him. To anyone, those words probably meant imminent death. So, the Kitsune was very surprised when Hiei grinned.

"Mind your language, Kitsune no baka, your sister might hear you and charge you money for your profanity. Who's idea was that, anyway? Where are you going?"

"Away, you're being a jerk." Kurama began walking, but Hiei stepped in front of the door, muttering, "Go sit down, big baby."

"Chicken little."

"I do not run around screaming 'the sky is falling' every time something strikes my head, thank you ever so much, _baka Kitsune._ Have you ever been kissed?" Kurama's eyes snapped open in surprise. What kind of question was that?

"Lots of times, you?"

"Maybe."

"Answer the question."

"I did."

"Not well enough."

"Perhaps, then."

"Hiei… did you hear that?"

"What?" Kurama put a finger to his lips, then shrugged, murmuring, "I thought I heard crying, I was gonna check on Megumi, but it must have been my imagination. So, have you?"

"How's this: Not well."

"I could fix that." Kurama muttered. Hiei's ears twitched, but Kurama didn't think he'd heard. "Who was the lucky lady?"

"Who said they were female?"

"Who's the lucky guy, then?"

"Who said it was a guy?"

"Jesus, Hiei!" The dark-haired demon was openly laughing at him. "Why can't I ever get a straight answer from you? You dance around everything I throw at you. You must be a master at…" He'd been about to say foreplay, which in his experience involves a lot of dancing around stuff, but that was not a good idea, nope, not at all. He shrugged and stretched out fully on the bed.

"A master at what?"

"Driving me crazy." The other demon snorted at his reply. "I mean it. I'll bet you the kiss was fucking lousy, and it's no more than you deserve, anyway. I bet I kiss better than… whoever they were."

"Can't prove that, though."

"Could, too."

"Could, not."

"Could, too."

"Could not."

"Could, too."

"Could not."

"Could, too."

"Could not."

"Could _too_!"

"How?" Kurama arched an eyebrow and replied, "Well, you could kiss me, see how great a kisser I am-"

"I've heard tell that I am a greater kisser than anyone in the Makai."

"Who'd ya hear _that_ from?"

"People."

"Who?"

"_People,_ dammit." Kurama snickered, murmuring, "Who, the queen of the gorilla people?" Hiei made a face, sniping, "Oh, yes, so very witty, Kitsune no baka, haha…" Then Hiei had to grin. "Okay, maybe slightly less lame than I said, but, anyway…." He noticed Kurama watching him intently, felt his heart leap. Why was he looking at him like that? So… longingly. Almost… lovingly? No, not that, but he was looking at the smaller demon strangely.

The _youko_ cleared his throat, blushing slightly. Hiei couldn't help but notice how cute Kurama looked when blushing. _Wait, cute?_

"Hiei, if you don't mind, I'd… I'd like to find out for myself." The fire demon swallowed thickly. Was the fox asking him… was that idiot fox actually asking to kiss him? He doubted it. "May I kiss you?" Okay, never mind, he was. Dreams really do come true, what do you know.

"Kurama, if you're joking-" The thought was too much to bear, and he stopped speaking abruptly.

"I'm not. May I?" The kitsune's face was open and honest, waiting for an answer. Hiei pretended to be annoyed, though his heart was hammering with nervousness and excitement.

"Oh, fine." Kurama smiled at his reply. "Kurama?"

"Come here." The half-Koorime came reluctantly, unsure what to expect. The Kitsune gently touched his mouth to Hiei's, not demanding anything. The kiss was a gentle caress on his lips, tender if anything. Hiei's breath, which he'd been holding for some time, came out in a soft sigh. This was actually nice. The fox touched his tongue to Hiei's mouth, which obediently opened to allow him entrance, but before the kiss could go much farther, both demons heard a scream.

"Damn!" Kurama whispered fiercely, then sighed, walking purposefully through the door and down the hall.

"Kurama?"

"It's Meg, she probably just had a nightma-" A shrill scream, much more terrified than the first, made both youkai stop in their tracks, their blood cold. Then, as one, they ran towards Megumi's room.

Why did Megumi scream? Where would the kiss have gone if she hadn't screamed? Who has Hiei kissed before? What's Megumi gonna think? Find out a few of the answers in chapter… I think it's six. Oh, well, read and review, thanks! Tata!


	6. Chapter 5

**Nightmares, Visions, and Boogey Men**

Megumi couldn't believe what she was seeing. Yukina, Keiko, Botan, and Shizuru were all dead. They were all splayed out, covered in blood. Megumi sniffed and gagged at the scent of old blood. She looked away from the girls, and saw Kuwabara and Yusuke, both dead as well, their heads cut off and stuck on pikes in the ground. Were her brother and her angel dead, too, then?

The seven-year-old girl closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was standing in a clearing in a forest, alone, save for two corpses. One of them Megumi knew, recognized, but didn't understand how. Silver hair was soaked red with blood, silver silk tunic splashed with it, the pale body cold, bloodless, tinged blue. The eyes were wide and glazed, dimmed golden lamps. Through the heart was a single red rose with thorns. The man also had a fluffy silver tail and ears, and a shock of recognition hit her. The name was on the tip of her tongue. What was this man's name?

She shook her head and looked over at Hiei. His throat had been slit, a scarlet smile from one ear to the other. She moaned and looked back to the silver _Kitsune_. It _was_ a fox _youkai_, she knew, but the name… _Youko_? No, no… it was a K name, it started with K, and she knew the name, it was familiar and important, K… K… K-U-R… Kur-what? Who was this demon? Then, it struck her, struck her hard, and she screamed. It couldn't be, it couldn't be! No, no, "NO! KURAMA!"

Megumi sat up and stuffed a hand into her mouth, biting her knuckles hard enough to make them bleed when she saw her closet door open slowly, and glowing green eyes regarding her steadily. It was okay, she was dreaming, wasn't she? The eyes bobbed up and down, moving towards her, and the stench of swamps, old blood, and dead rats assailed her nose.

"So nice…" the eyes murmured, "so nice, little girl, nice little girl…" Megumi felt a rush of _reiki_ through her body.

The face of the monster became visible to her eyes, flesh rotting and falling off bones, eyes black with glowing green pupils, nails long and jagged, filthy with old blood. Hair the color of slime and swamp moved as if pushed by an imaginary wind. Megumi's power flared and the door to her bedroom slammed open, the hallway light flooding the room, and her three nightlights flaring to life. The star-shaped glow lights on her ceiling flared and glowed steadily, and her blue and green light jumped to life.

The monster screamed and flailed, falling backwards. Megumi leapt out of bed, grabbed her high-intensity flashlight (she always kept one on the nightstand for reading late at night) and ran from the room. As her feet hit the floor for the first time, skeletal gray hands with black nails snaked out and grabbed her ankles. She flicked on the flashlight and zapped the thing, which screamed and let go. She ran out of the room and, using _reiki_, slammed the door.

"Megumi?" Kurama saw her hunched up on the floor, as far from her bedroom door as she could get. "Meg, what's wrong?" Her green eyes were big and frightened, her face pale as death. She was rocking back and forth, whimpering. Her brother knelt in front of her and put both hands on her shoulders.

"B-bad."

"What's bad?"

"Dream."

"Did you have a nightmare?" She nodded. "Is that what scared you?" She shook her head so hard her neck hurt. "What scared you? What's in there?"

"Closet."

"Closet?" Megumi's eyes took on a faraway look and she whispered in a dead voice, "They killed you, Kurama, they killed you, you and Hiei and the Reikai Tantei. They killed you all, I saw it, I _saw_ it, and when I woke up, there they were, ready to kill me. Ready to fucking kill me. Kill me, Kurama, that's what those bastards want. Kill me, eat my heart, oh, Kurama, there was _so much blood...!_" Her sentence ended in a hysterical shriek.

"Megumi!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her before making her look at him. "Megumi, what are you talking about?"

"Bad. Bad monsters. In the closet." Kurama was shocked. Megumi had never made allusions to monsters under the bed, or in the closet, or the boogey man, ever in her life. So, if she said there was something, was it possible there actually was? And what was that about blood and everyone dying? "Bed," Megumi whispered, "claws."

"What do you mean, Meg-" the fox began, but Hiei called his name. "Hiei?"

"Look." The floor of Megumi's bedroom was covered in green-black slime, and the stench of rotting dead things filled the room. Her ceiling was covered with gray slime, and blood trickled out from under the bed.

"The closet door." The door had deep gouges in it, was covered with thick, dark blood, and the doorknob, locked, was covered with red frost. There was a large bookcase in front of the door, as well as Megumi's computer desk, television, and dresser. Megumi whimpered when the door thumped. Something was trying to get out. The door thumped again and the entire blockage ensemble slid forward a few inches. The knob of the door began to rattle.

"Hiei… let's get out of here."

"We should fight it."

"We don't know what it is, and Megumi might get hurt. We have to get out of here, now."

"Yeah, that seems wise." Megumi was lifted into Kurama's arms, and they both ran to Genkai's.


	7. Chapter 6

**Attack on the Temple**

"Why are you two blithering _bakas_ interrupting my sleep… huh. Little one, what are you doing here? Are you ill?"

"No, Master Genkai. I'm afraid." Megumi spoke simply, but the old master was concerned at how white she was. She was shaking in Kurama's grasp.

"What happened?"

"Master Genkai, a demon attacked Megumi in her room, coming out of her closet. We don't know why it attacked her, or how it got in her closet in the first place. But… anyway, can we stay here tonight?" Kurama asked quietly.

"Why is the dragon ass with you?"

"Hiei-" Kurama began, somewhat angry.

"Is my guardian angel. He takes care of me when Kama's busy," Megumi said, then asked sweetly, "Can we watch a movie, Master Genkai?"

"Sure. Come on in. The dimwit's here, so don't bother him." Megumi took on a shocked looked and cried, "Who, me? Never. Uh… oh! Oh, oh! Kama! It's the thing!" Kurama put Megumi on the ground and she ducked behind Genkai. Hiei drew his sword and Kurama his single red rose.

"Nice little girl… nice… so nice…" Megumi whimpered and bit her lip, cowering behind the human psychic.

"Hey, dimwit! Get your ass out the door already!" Yusuke stumbled out, muttering, "Go to hell, grandma… what the hell are those?"

"Tainted girl… nice, tainted one…"

"Tainted? What do they mean, she's tainted?" Kurama asked as the boogey man stumbled closer. Yusuke began charging his Spirit Gun.

"I'm not sure," Genkai said, "but whatever it is… Megumi, go inside!"

"But, Genkai-"

"Don't argue, Megling, go!" Kurama shouted, and the little girl raced inside. She spun around in time to see Kurama thrown through the massive trunks of some trees around the temple. A thick black tentacle-thing lifted him up and flung him into a stone wall, which collapsed with a crash.

"Kama!" Hiei glanced at Megumi, distracted. The boogey man took the opportunity to slam a large, rotting fist into the side of his head. Hiei crumpled, and Yusuke went flying when the black tentacle slammed into him, too. Genkai was lying in a heap on the ground, barely breathing. The six-year-old red head ran to her brother, who was lying half buried under the rubble from the wall. She began to shake his arm, trying to wake him.

"Kama! Get up! Please, get up!" The Kitsune groaned, but didn't move or open his eyes. The dead thing from her closet came closer.

"I'm a dead demon, I'm a dead demon… Kama, please!" Megumi began to cry. "Get up, get up… please." The girl looked up as the boogey man's cold, festering hands groped closer and closer. "Ah!"

Megumi shrieked and darted under its arms, running like mad down the stone steps to the forest. If she hadn't been so frightened, she would have run toward the road, but she was too terrified to think. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing and heaving sobs, the slap of branches bending and snapping back against her small body. She continued to run, breathing hard, falling and shoving herself to her feet until she stumbled to a halt at the bank of a river.

Megumi didn't know how to swim, and she was too little to wade across, the waters too deep and cold. She fell to the ground, crying. "Kama, Kama…" The demon didn't find her in the forest, but another _youkai_ did, after she'd fallen into exhausted sleep. It lifted her into its arms and carried her to its home. She didn't even stir.


	8. Chapter 7

**Hunted**

"Are you sure about the girl, brother? Do we really have to…"

"Not getting squeamish, are you, little brother?" The pale man asked mockingly. "She's the abomination, the anomaly. If she is allowed to, the end of the worlds might ensue her coming to power."

"She's a child," the younger of the two said, "and there is no honor in killing children."

"She carries the taint that can destroy the worlds. But who said we were going to kill her? We simply must eradicate the taint."

"She may be tainted," said another man with hard eyes, "but she is young, innocent. Easily molded. If she has no reason to unleash her power-"

"That's too much of a risk. We cannot abide failure. It is decided. Now, let us find her."

"Oh, man… Urameshi! Kurama! Shrimp! Genkai! Where are you guys?" Kuwabara looked around at the ruined temple but saw no one. "Urameshi!"

"Kuwabara!" The voice was Kurama's, and the human teenager saw the _Kitsune_ lying half buried beneath rubble, trying to free himself. "Kuwabara!"

"Man, Kurama! What the hell happened, man? What the fuck's going on around here?" The larger male lifted the largest of the rocks off the fox's back, allowing him to rise. Kurama stood, looked around with bleak eyes, and fell to his knees. "Kurama?"

"God damn it! God damn it! God damn it! God damn it! Why, why, why, why, whywhywhy?" With every exclamation, he pounded his fist against the ground. What was the _matter_ with him? Why couldn't he protect the one who mattered the very most? He'd lost her, he'd lost his sister, his baby sister, the one he loved, his little baby sister, he'd lost her! Oh, God, oh God, "Megumi! _Megumi!_"

He felt hot tears coursing down his cheeks and falling to the ground, but he didn't feel any better. Oh, dear God, what was he going to do? He had to find her. But was she even alive? He had to believe she was. Megumi was alive. But she was missing. What the hell was he going to tell their mother?

"How did she take it?" Hiei asked gently, looking at the _Kitsune_ with compassion. Kurama had returned from telling his mother about Megumi's disappearance. The red head looked about ready to break down and cry. "Was she okay?"

"No," he said, shaking his head, trying not to cry, "no, she wasn't." Kurama sighed and dropped his face in his hands. His shoulders began to shake as silent sobs welled up from nowhere. His sister was missing. His baby sister was in danger, and he was just sitting here, crying like some fop. But he couldn't help the crying, he missed Megumi and was so afraid for her… he felt a pair of arms go around him, and Hiei hugged him gently, trying to comfort him.

"I'm worried for her too, Kitsune. We'll find her, get her back. Don't worry." Kurama buried his face in Hiei's chest and cried.

Megumi awoke to the sound of a crackling fire. Opening her eyes, she sat up and looked around. She was in a cave, with sparkling walls and a high, vast ceiling, lying on a pile of fur blankets. There was a bowl of soup next to her pillow and a cup of water. There was a note held to the floor by a stone.

"There's a pitcher and basin by the pool, and some clothes by the fire. Put them on before the hourglass runs through." She looked around for the hourglass. It had half-an-hour's time left. She stood up, went to where the pool was, a small pond of crystalline waters, and washed her face. She found the clothes the note mentioned, a long tunic- meant for a grown-up and a cord belt. She could wear the tunic as a dress. She slipped off her dirty clothes, smeared with mud, and put on the white, cotton garment and tied it with the gold belt.

She then sat down and ate the soup. It was, indeed, delicious, with chunks of beef and chicken, and chopped celery, carrots, onions, and potatoes. The broth itself was wonderful, hot and steamy, and after eating the soup, she drank down the broth, which warmed her down to her frozen fingertips and toes. "Yummy…" she said to herself.

"Did you enjoy it, then?" She whirled around to see the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on. He had long black hair that shone in the firelight, and dark eyes that twinkled with amusement. His lips were an unusual red, like a vampire's, and his teeth were oddly pointed. He merely smiled at her, and she at once felt at ease. Nothing in her sixth sense for danger was worried, so she relaxed and opened her senses, learning about this demon.

"I did, thank you. It was delicious… Karasu."


	9. Chapter 8

**Yanami**

"Do you think she's alright?" Kurama whispered in the dark, when Hiei stepped through the open window in his room.

"Yes, I do, fox. Megumi's a smart girl, she can take care of herself." Kurama knew Hiei was blowing smoke out of his ass, but it was to cheer him up, and it made him feel a little better.

"_Arigatou_, Hiei. Will you… sleep with me tonight?" The fire demon gave no answer, and Kurama thought he had left, until a small, hot, hard body snuggled under the covers with him.

"Yes."

"Thank you, Hiei." It made Kurama feel much better, somehow, to curl up to and cuddle against the half-_Koorime_. "Hiei?"

"Hn?"

"Kiss me."

"What?"

"Kiss me. Please? I need you to kiss me." Hiei looked into Kurama's eyes, shining in the moonlight with fear, sadness, desire, longing… love? He then looked at the soft lips, and bent his head to taste the _kitsune_'s mouth. His gentle fingers caressed the fox's pale, wet cheek. Wait, wet?

"Kurama? Are you crying?"

"I miss my baby sister. I need the pain of it to go away. I can forget about it all when I'm with you. Please, Hiei?"

"What are we going to do to get her back, Fox?"

"I don't know. I don't know."

"Go to sleep, Fox. We'll think of something."

"Do you remember me, Megumi Minamino?"

"Oh, yes, I remember you, Karasu. You were the lover of Koori, were you not?"

"Yes, I was." Karasu's eyes held a strange hunger that went beyond sex to something deeper, darker, and far more dangerous. "And I miss her."

"I know you do."

"Why do you not go by your _youkai_ name, like your brother?"

"Kama is more in touch with his past. And I cannot shift into the form you so desire, Karasu, so stop looking at me like that." The other demon wilted, furious and saddened. "I _am_ sorry, Karasu."

"You knew, didn't you? When you first heard my voice, you knew."

"Well, it's not like I had an advantage. You knew when you first saw me."

"You're right. You look nothing like you used to, but I knew it was you." Megumi was startled to see tears in his eyes, and scrambled with childish clumsiness to his side. She wrapped herself around his arm. "Oh, Koori," and she cuddled against him as he put his arms around her, "I've been longing to see you again, for so long."

"You didn't kill me."

"No."

"But you kill what you love. You're emotionally masochistic that way."

"You died on me once, and I missed you so, and I don't want you to die again. That pain was not the pleasure it should have been. Even the most brutal masochist has their limits. I never want to lose you again."

"How nice," she said dryly. "You're part of the Apparition Gang, though."

"That's true."

"You picked a rather inopportune time to challenge the Reikai Tantei for the Dark Tournament, dearest."

"I'm sorry."

"Sure you are. Are Toguro and them looking for me?" This time he glanced at her and looked away, his face turning somewhat rosy. "It's because of the power this body holds, isn't it? That power that even the demon in me doesn't understand. I have a very powerful energy inside me, something that could destroy the Four Worlds if I chose. Isn't that right, Karasu?"

"That's right."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Something no human child should have. Something you should never have been burdened with, Koori."

"But it's there, isn't it? Deep inside me, that power is there. I've felt it in my soul, and I don't know what it means. There's something important going on. I'm supposed to stop the world from ending, aren't I? Like last time."

"Last time you died through _Youko_'s carelessness!"

"Is that why you hate him? I chose to die, Karasu. I stayed behind because if I had lived past that, I would have died in a far more terrible way, and the creature that was going to kill me would have brought something to life that should never have been born. I stopped the Apocalypse with my first death, and even then, I managed to come back to the ones I loved."

"The Apocalypse is coming again, Koori."

"I know."

"Will you be the one who must die to stop it this time?"

"I don't know."

"You can't die again, my love."

"Sometimes, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"There's more to this than you know, Koori."

"I know there is, Karasu. That's why... Karasu, we have to leave, now. Come on!"

"But-"

"Now, Karasu! Now! Oh, no!" The demon whirled to see strange, lumbering corpse-things staggering toward him and Megumi/Koori, hands outstretched and blindly groping. "Karasu, we have to get out of here."

"I can handle them, beloved."

"No, you can't! There are more waiting outside, too many to fight-" A silver crossbow bolt pierced Karasu's chest and exploded in silver, glittering flames that consumed his clothes in a flash and left his flesh smoldering.

"God dammit!" He ripped the bolt out, roaring in pain and rage, and stared at the figure approaching them. "Who the hell are you?"

"Someone who wants the _Kitsune_ known as Koori dead."

"Koori's been dead for almost twenty years!"

"And been reborn for almost a decade in the body of Megumi Minamino! I'm not stupid, Karasu! That child will die, and her blood will finally give me what I want."

"Over my dead body!"

"As you wish," said the shadow demon Yanami. "Atta- what?" Every zombie creature burst into brilliant blue fire. "What?"

"Stay away from my Mate," Megumi/Koori hissed, her now cobalt blue eyes darkening with obsidian, glacial rage. Her small fists were clenched in fury, and she bared her teeth in a ferocious snarl of warning.

"You've got a lot to learn, little girl!" Yanami shrieked in anger and flung a fireball at the child, enveloping her in deadly heat.

"NO!" Karasu made as if to run to her, but Yanami engulfed him in iron-hard strands of shadows. He fell to his knees, scarlet tears rolling down his cheeks. "Koori... by the Fires of Hell!" The roaring flames turned a brilliant, cobalt blue, and from within them strode forth a stark naked woman with long, crimson hair in a warrior's braid that fell past her waist, flawless ivory skin, and brilliant emerald eyes. She had the well-defined muscles of a warrior, and in her hand was an elegant _katana_.

"Yanami, you bitch," said the woman in a conversational tone. "You tried to kill me, didn't you? Bitch. Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried that?"

"Your bastard brother put a knife between my eyes."

"Exactly."

"Your lover is a bit of a fop," Yanami said, as the two women circled each other.

"He's just under a lot of stress. And this was the third time I've died on him. I'm sure it's starting to get tiresome."

"You _will_ die, hell bitch."

"You wanna bet your lunch money on that, darling?"

"Go to hell!"

"No... _thanks_!" Megumi/Koori leapt and plunged her katana into Yanami's chest, and the black haired, black eyed demon woman shrieked and exploded into dust.

"Koori..." Karasu looked almost as if he was going to have a heart attack. The red haired woman approached him and caressed his cheek.

"We need to leave, Karasu."

"Koori..." He rose up to his knees, the ties of shadow now gone. He put his hand to her cheek, amazed at her new appearance. "I've been waiting for you."

"I know."

"Stay this way."

"I can't for much longer." Karasu's warm, sensual lips caressed hers in a sweet, long awaited kiss. His tongue touched the seam of her lips until she opened for him, and then he plundered her sweet tasting mouth with his tongue, until she clung to him for dear life and moaned into his mouth.

"Have you missed me?" He asked when they parted. She took a deep breath and whispered softly, "More than words can say. But we have to go, my love. Now, before it's too late. Come on, let's go." And with that, she was again Megumi, tiny, eight-year-old, adorable human Megumi, and they were gone.


	10. Chapter 9

**What Now?**

"Well, that sucked. I'm naked again. And don't you dare say you like me this way, you flipping pervert! I am too young for you to be entertaining thoughts of lust and mating, you know."

"Actually," Karasu murmured as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch, "I was going to tell you how cute you look. You're only seven, little girl. Don't be so damned sensitive." Megumi tugged on a lock of shadow black hair that hung in his face and said, "Hey, my virgin ears!"

"Ha! Like hell!"

"Hey, I _know_ you. You're thinking of Koori. And I'm eight."

"You're seven, don't even try to lie to me. I know when you tell the truth, my love. And seven or eight, you're younger than I, and you _are_ Koori, little girl."

"I'm Megumi, too."

"I'm aware of that."

"Are you?"

"Yes, quite aware," he hissed, his voice tight with pain. Oh, yes, he knew she wasn't just his Mate, but this little human girl as well.

"How can you run so bloody fast?"

"What happened to 'my virgin ears,' huh? And I'm a demon, little girl."

"Please stop calling me that, Karasu," she said softly, and he immediately regretted his waspish tone. For all she'd lived two previous lives, Megumi was still only eight, and she was probably very confused with his arrival.

"Koori... Megumi," he said with finality, "I'm sorry. I'm going to take you home. You can even tell the others what happened. But don't tell them about... about us, all right? Your brother wouldn't understand."

"Probably not. All right. You will be at the Dark Tournament, right?" She relaxed in his arms and watched as the trees whizzed past in a blur. This seemed to be her most common form of transportation, lately.

"Of course I'll be there."

"You're part of Team Toguro, yes?"

"Yes," he said regretfully. Megumi thought about that for a moment, then said, "Remember who your first loyalty is to. Your Mate should come before all else. Use that as justification if Toguro gives you any grief."

"You're a smart woman, my love. Ah, here we are. Your house, I believe." He deposited her gently on the branch outside her open window. Peeking in, she saw the closet door was still blocked.

"I think I'll sleep in the tree house," she murmured thoughtfully. "You never know what might pop out of my closet."

"Yanami's dead," Karasu replied. Megumi shrugged and said, "She's like Dracula: she always comes back. Here... I don't feel like being naked. Let me... what is that?"

"One of your old dresses." Holding her breath, she concentrated and became an adult again. This time, she had a sleek, foxy tail. Slipping on the dress- her Mate was looking at her funny- she then became a child again, and the simple blue shift shrank to fit her smaller child's body.

"Bed time," she said as she stepped into the tree house with the older demon. Settling onto the cushions that littered the floor, she rested her head on Karasu's knee and fell asleep.

Just as dawn broke, both Hiei and Kurama snapped awake and sensed both Megumi and Karasu's _ki_. The pale, red lipped demon knew it the moment it happened. Swiftly kissing Megumi goodbye on the cheek and settling her back onto the cushions, he left as quickly as he could, shoving his way through the barrier between the worlds and into the _Makai_.

Shiori Minamino was awoken by her son shrieking, "Megumi! Megumi! You're here!" Shiori ran outside to see her son's arms around her now-no-longer-missing daughter, and she screamed and lifted her child into the air, hugging and kissing her, saying her name over and over again.

Megumi was home.

"This demon saved you?" Hiei asked again. Megumi sighed, crying, "Yes. He brought me back here, but I was so tired that I fell asleep in the tree house." She didn't tell them about being awoken from a sensual dream and finding herself in her fox form, a fully-grown, hot-blooded _Kitsune_ in need of her Mate. That wasn't their business, and she knew how to hide it from them.

"So, the Apocalypse is coming. Great. So, now what?"

"Good question. How about getting ready for the Dark Tournament?" Koenma asked. Megumi, deciding this was a brilliant plan, stuck her thumb in her mouth and settled down against Kurama for a nap. They could deal with the end of the worlds when she woke up.


	11. Chapter 10

Clues and Questions 

"Megumi can't be in the Dark Tournament! She's a little girl!" Kurama cried, raising himself up to his full height. His eight-year-old sister fluffed her bright red hair and uttered a long-suffering sigh. Oh, to be big again, to be grown up, to have _real_ power again. Well, okay, maybe not the grown up part.

"Kurama, the rules clearly state that a team must have at least six members. You are one short, even with Megumi. We need as many people as we can get." Koenma rolled his binky around in his mouth, staring intently at the little girl who blinked her blank, glassy green eyes at him.

"Find someone else."

"Who?"

"Why not you?"

"Kurama, I'm no fighter."

"Well, neither is she!" With some fire, the tiny prince snapped, "She's a lot better at it than I am, I can tell you that. And no one would risk killing her, because... because... I mean, um... uh..."

"_Nani_?" Hiei hissed, eyes hardening to crimson ice. "Why wouldn't they kill her? They're not afraid of our vengeance. So why would they hesitate to kill her?"

"Good question," Yusuke muttered suspiciously. "What is there to stop them?"

"Team Toguro," Megumi murmured. They all whirled to stare at her. Yusuke gulped, Kuwabara looked blank. Koenma looked as if he would wet himself, and Hiei and Kurama were both bewildered. Genkai stared at her as if she were mad as a hat.

"What makes you think Team Toguro would do anything to save your life?" The old woman asked, looking uneasy.

"They wouldn't."

"I don't understand."

"Team Toguro would not do anything to save me. But... an associate of the Toguro Brothers most certainly would fight for love of me. And the others would help him if he requested it. Other demons fear such retaliation."

"What associate would care if you died?" Genkai asked the girl. A dreamy smile flitted across her face, and her eyes seemed far away.

"The Raven in chains of honor, the man behind the black curtain, that mysterious, masked man, whose heart is of fire, ice, and darkness," she murmured, her smile broadening to a happy grin.

"Are you afraid of the Raven?"

"Never. Never, ever." Genkai turned to lock her chocolate brown gaze with the others. Megumi would give them no more clues, but the question remained. Who in the name of Hell was she talking about?

"Why didn't you kill her? We need her blood, her power, and her soul. We need her dead. I wanted her lifeless corpse at my feet, yet the floor before me is irritatingly bare. Why Yanami? Why did you not kill her?"

"I couldn't, you arrogant fool. She's grown stronger than she ever was before. Something about becoming human has changed her, I've never felt such power before. It wasn't _youki_ or _reiki_, it was less and more and..."

"What, Yanami? Go ahead, finish what you meant to say."

"She can't control that power, but it's aware, it's _alive_. It's not just energy. Somehow, it knows to protect her. I don't know what it is, what _she_ is, but that kind of power in a child of any species is unnatural." The shadow demoness shivered, her black eyes angry and hateful. "I swore an oath of vengeance on that brat when she turned me into what I am today. But the power she unleashed on me then... it was nothing to the power she has now. A grain of sand in the desert."

"She is only a demon."

"Oh, no, she is no demon. She is no human, no demon, no angel or ghost, no monster, and certainly no child of any race. I don't know _what_ she is, and honestly, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference to me."

"Can you kill her?" Her master stared down at her, his skin bright crimson with frustration. He wanted the child dead before some embarrassing happened, like his exposure in the plot to destroy the worlds.

"Can you kill her?" He repeated. Yanami smiled, revealing her rows of razor sharp teeth like a shark. Ah, that was the question, wasn't it?

"I don't know. But I can sure as hell try."

"What is so important, Bu? We have a job right now, in case you haven't noticed. Mr. Takenaka would be most displeased if something happened while we were on watch. Couldn't this wait?"

"No, Toguro, it could not. I have found the Sparrow." The armored youkai's excitement rolled off of him in thick waves. "She is with the one that became human, and the dragon master, and the humans that you have challenged to the Dark Tournament. She will be there, at the tournament, as well."

"She... surely the Sparrow is not also the Awakener?"

"Yes." At this, Bu's excitement began to fade.

"But the Sparrow must live to stop the Apocalypse, to stop the Awakener. I... I do not understand how this could be. Are you sure about this?"

"Completely. What are we going to do? The Awakener must die, but how can the Sparrow kill herself?"

"I don't know," Toguro said. "The Sparrow's task is to take the Awakener back to the Abyss, back where she belongs. But if they are one and the same... it makes no sense."

"Unless the Sparrow is to die in the process."

"That cannot be. Well... no matter. We will watch the girl, and wait. All will reveal itself in the end."


	12. Chapter 11

**I know, I know, it's been so long! Thank you all, you guys who have been so patient and have waited so long. Just, all this stuff came up. I hope you like this chapter. At this point, I've got three things I need to do with the story right now: develop the relationship between Kurama and Hiei, with some added drama, of course; train Megumi for the Dark Tournament (we forgot about that, didn't we?); and develop backstory around our little demon triangle: Megumi, Karasu, and Yanami. So, that's the main arc for the next 3 chapters at least. Have fun, leave me some juicy reviews, they're wonderful incentive to work harder and do more and guess what? I have a lap top now so I'll be able to update my crap way more because I'M NOT GROUNDED ANYMORE! woot! okay, done with the rantiness, enjoy.**

**Chapter Eleven **

**Blue Fire Kindled**

Megumi glared daggers, and Kurama was shaking with exhaustion when somehow, finally, for just a moment, a tiny, flickering ball of blue and green flame appeared in the child's outstretched palm. She gasped, and the tiny ball, about the size of a large marble, winked out of existence. The _youko_ felt his mouth drop open when his little sister burst into tears.

"Megumi! Megumi, Megling, darling, no, don't cry!" He lifted her into his arms, and she curled up against him like a snail, pressing her face into his chest. He supposed he should've seen this coming. For weeks, now, he and the other Reikai Tantei, along with Megumi, had been training for the Dark Tournament. The others, they had access to their spirit energy, they could manipulate it into weapons and fight with it. But his sister, she had never tried to form her reiki into a physical form, into a weapon, except once, she'd said, with "the Raven in chains of honor," whoever he was, and she couldn't do it again. She had tried, tried and tried so very hard to form even the tiniest flicker of spirit fire, and when she'd finally managed it, it had winked out of existence in a moment, as if all the effort she'd put into it, the weeks and weeks of effort, were now for nothing. No wonder she'd burst out crying.

"Shhhh, hush now, hush now. It's all right, Megumi, it's all right. You've done wonderfully well, especially considering how old you are and how little training you've had-"

"NO!" She jerked away from him, scrambling to her feet and backing away. "Kama, no! No! I'm not… just because… you… Angel… NO!" She cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. She tripped, fell back on her butt, but when he reached for her, utterly bewildered, shocked, she leapt up, turned, and ran blindly into the forest around the Temple.

"Megumi! Megumi, wait!"

She didn't heed him. She couldn't. She knew he didn't understand.

**oo8oo8oo8oo8oo**

Hiei felt a twinge somewhere in his chest, and cried, "Hold." Immediately, Kuwabara lowered his spirit sword. Confused, the Jaganshi turned toward a spark of reiki he felt to the west, coming slowly closer. Sheathing his sword, the fire demon cast a quick glance at the human boy and ran to meet the familiar spark. He could taste her distress, and it bit at him like a gnawing rat.

When he saw her, he planted himself directly in her way. So blinded by tears was she, that she didn't even see him. She ran into him so hard, she fell back onto the ground with a cry of "oomph!" Slowly, gingerly, she sat up, and held up her hands in front of her face. They were dirty, and scraped from her fall. But Hiei was more than a little unnerved by the way she just sat and stared at her tiny child hands until finally, right when he thought the leash on his urge to scream from the oppressive silence was about to snap, she looked up at him, and he felt as if he'd been punched in the gut.

It hadn't occurred to him just how upset she'd have to be to project to him so strongly. He had tight shields, and usually didn't allow emotion through. Malice, evil intent, spirit energy levels, but not emotion. For her to just blast through his shields like that should have told him just what she was feeling… but like a fool, it hadn't. Like a fool, he had missed what Kurama had missed: just how fragile she was.

"Little one…."

"I can't do it," she whispered. She held up her hands, almost beseeching. "I-I tried and I tried, I honestly, really tried, but I can't… I c-can't…."

Reaching down a hand, he clasped her forearm near the elbow and replied, "Then I will help you, my little one," and he pulled her to her feet. "But first, I must see to those wounds. Come along."

_I have her, fox,_ Hiei called telepathically to the _kitsune_. He could sense Kurama's relief at the message. _I'll take care of her for now._ Was that a tiny flare of hurt from the fox? No, merely Hiei's imagination, surely. And in his mind grew the words _Try to find out what's wrong with her, would you?_

**oo8oo8oo8oo8oo**

He settled her down fairly easily, though he could sense her tears boiling just beneath her calm surface, ready to spill over and carry her away in a flood of anguish. Setting her down at the stone table outside Genkai's Temple, and gave her a glass of the sweet, bubbly, brown drink Kurama called "coke." Sipping it seemed to calm her.

"Now," he said briskly, sitting across from her, "what's all this about something you can't do?"

"Kurama's trying to teach me how to make spirit fire," she said softly. The fact that she didn't call her brother "Kama" told him again just how upset the child was. She almost _never_ called him Kurama. "I did it once, when I was with _him_," no need to ask who _he_ was, she always talked about the Raven with a particular intensity, "but that was different. He was in trouble, a shadow demon attacked us. I had to fight her…."

"You never told us that!" Hiei cried. "What demon?"

"Someone from my past, it's not important. But it was only that once. It was a lot, a huge fireball, bright blue like the sky. But it didn't last very long. And I haven't been able to do it after that except just now, and that was only for a second. It wasn't even that big. Smaller than a shooter marble. It was completely worthless."

"No, Megling," he murmured. Reaching out, he took one of her tiny hands in his. "No advance in power is worthless. You need better control, that's all. You've got shields around your power so tight, you've locked all your power away. It's a natural survival mechanism for demon children if they've been traumatized by using their powers. Has something bad ever happened because of your powers when you were young?"

She scrubbed a hand over her face, sighing. Something in the fire demon's chest tightened. She looked so old, so tired, so worn out suddenly. Not like the little foxling he knew at all. She nodded, and told him several stories of nightmares, of powers out of control because of the terrors she'd had as a toddler. Only her brother had been able to stop it all, but once, just once, her brother had not been enough, and had been engulfed in flames, and though he hadn't been burned, the flames had had a strange effect on him, rendering him nearly powerless and actually almost killing the fox demon. It was after that, that her powers had stopped working. The fear of hurting her brother kept her cobalt fire at bay, trapped inside her mind.

At the end of her story, after describing the state Kurama had been in, nearly comatose, the little girl was again reduced to tears. But this time they were silent, crystal drops etching meandering trails in the dirt on her face. Hiei sighed, then held out his hand, palm up. In the center of his outstretched hand, a lick of jet black flame appear.

"Match me."

"I can't," she whispered. The half-Koorime shook his head and snapped, "I don't believe you. You are your brother's sister. I know what you can and cannot do. Now, look at the flame. You see it?" She nodded, eyes shadowed. "Do you feel it?" Again with her nod. "Embrace that feeling. The fire in you is blue, and can burn either furiously hot or frigidly cold. But to you it will always feel sweet, and cool as a breezy spring day. It's a good feeling. Don't be afraid of it. Now, hold out your hand to the fire, and I will kindle your fire with mine. You don't have to create flame to fight with it."

Hesitantly, she reached out and gently touched her fingertips to the black tongue of flame. Suddenly, that feeling a warm, soft kitten rubbing against her palm made her smile, almost laugh. This was the feeling she'd felt briefly before the tiny blue ball of fire had flickered out. She glanced up at Hiei, green eyes shining like hunter green glass, and he grinned down at her when she gasp in delight as the flame leapt up to dance along her knuckles, almost like a coin, a coin made of brilliant blue fire.

"You see?!" He cried, grinning down at her. She kept glancing from him to the flame and back to him, back to the flame, back and forth as if she could not believe her eyes. "There is nothing you cannot do, my little one."

"I did it! I'm _doing_ it!" For the fire was still there, now dancing like a will-o-the-wisp in her palm. "I'm keeping it!"

"You did it, Megling, you did it!" She set the flame on the table, where it sat, waiting patiently, and she ran around the table and threw her arms around the fire demon.

"Thank you, Angel," she murmured, and kissed him on the cheek.

---------------------------------

**aren't they precious? just so you guys know, I have OTHER fanfics out there. lord of the rings, ghost rider, criminal minds: those are my babies right now. They even have matching blankies!!! -- yes, yes, I know, I'm weird. Anyway, check out other stuff of mine if you'd be so kind. kisses!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve **

**Poison of the Mind **

Kurama tried to smile when he and Kuwabara saw Megumi, sitting on Hiei's shoulders, grinning and playing with a tiny ball of blue spirit fire. Her grin tugged at his heart, but painfully so. How had the fire demon taken the hysterical child and turned her back into the sweet little thing Kurama had seen her as before her power had flickered out? And how had he taught her to use fox fire so easily, so quickly? And why had she gotten so upset to begin with?

"Hi, Kama!" She cried, and hopped down, ran over to him, and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "I did it, look, see? Look, Kama, I made _reihi_!" And she held the little blue ball of fire out to him. "Now I can start really training to be just as good as Angel!"

Inside, the Kitsune cringed, but he didn't show it. Since when had his sister, who had always adored him, wanted to become like Hiei? Absently, he kissed her on the cheek when she hugged him and sent her off to talk with Kuwabara so that he could watch the Jaganshi from beneath his garnet dark eyelashes. The half-Koorime was watching little Megumi as she chatted animatedly with the ningen, something akin to fondness in his crimson eyes. It made bile rise in Kurama's throat. Why was the demon looking at Megumi that way, when he never had before?

His baby sister turned slightly then, her smile slipping a bit as her brilliant green gaze fell on his face. She looked momentarily taken aback, as if she'd seen something in his expression that shocked or scared her. Then she turned back to Kuwabara, as if she couldn't bear to look at her brother anymore, though she often cast glances back at him as dinner- provided by Botan and Atsuko- wore on.

Finally Kurama bestirred himself enough to check the time, and seeing that it was past ten he called, "Megling," making a deliberate attempt at gentleness, "time for bed." The child groaned and said, "Kama! Why do you always have to be such a spoil sport? I don't want to go to bed!!"

Kurama blinked, his jaw slacking just a bit. Meg had never spoken to him like that in all her short life. Kuwabara laughed at her, since to him, it rang as only childish petulance. Hiei came up and ruffled her hair, replying to her, "Sweeting, do as your brother says. You've been up for a long time and been working hard, you need to rest."

"Yeah," Kuwabara said, laughing. "So we can work you twice as hard tomorrow!"

Kurama bit back a sharp retort at their interference, then had to bite his tongue until he tasted blood when Megumi hugged the fire demon and said, "Okay, I'll go to bed. Will you tuck me in, Angel?" Tucking Megumi in, wishing her goodnight, telling her a bedtime story and bestowing that special kiss upon her forehead, had always been his duty and privilege. Why would she suddenly ask it of Hiei?

When she and the Jaganshi had gone into the cabin where the Reikai Tantei were staying, the kitsune leapt to his feet and stormed into the forest, fury and all-too-human hurt throbbing through his veins, his path followed by Kuwabara's disturbed gaze.

**oo8oo8oo8oo8oo**

_Why is Kama so angry with me, Karasu? _

In his mind, her words were faint, for there bond had weakened over the centuries of separation and she now no longer bore his mark, but he could taste the tears in her voice. He very much wanted to kill the silver kitsune, for he had reduced Karasu's mate to tears. It was late, the members of Team Urameshi were all asleep, save this little one who reached out to him.

_He is not angry with you, my love. He is angry, and confused, and afraid. Someone is using their powers against him, Koori. Someone is making him see things that are there, and yet are not there._

_What do you mean?_ She whispered in his head, and he wished he were with her. Her pain made him yearn to murder, to butcher, to slaughter, to kill until his ice cold rage was spent. But he instead answered her, _Someone is poisoning his mind with their power. Beware of this. Take care of the silver kitsune. If he and your "angel" fall prey to this poisoning, and become divided, I sense something wicked will come to destroy everything you hold dear._

_Good night, Karasu._

_Good night… my mate._

The demon unclenched his fists and looked down at his palms, which sported crescent marks from his claws, filling with bright red blood. He would go out into the forest this night, to spend his fury, and something, somewhere, would die in a shower of blood, so that, for one more night, Megumi would remain free of his cold, psychotic, murderous desire to see her corpse in his arms.

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In the words of JunoMagic:

**Please feel free to leave a comment!**

_Anything at all:_ If you noticed a typo, if you don't like a characterization or description, if you thought a line especially funny or poignant or interesting, if there was anything you particularly enjoyed … I am really interested in what my readers think about my writing.

You can leave a public comment (signed or anonymous), though if you want me to respond to it, signed is best, OR send me a private message, though I do prefer comments and reviews.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Disclaimers: I do not own the Lord of the Rings; I do not own blah-blah-blah. Said it in chapter one.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen **

**The Fires of Fear and Fury**

Hiei had no idea why Kurama the Silver Kitsune was angry with him, but a telepath like the Jaganshi always knew when someone was harboring vicious thoughts toward him, and the fox demon's thoughts were slithering deeper and deeper into the realm of hateful. All the fire demon knew was that the redhead's mind jumped often between the fox child, Megumi, and Hiei himself.

"I don't know what's going on, Angel," Megumi mumbled from where she lay sprawled on her back on the forest floor. The dappled light of the early afternoon caressed her cheeks and danced like a butterfly at the tip of her nose. She watched from beneath her garnet dark lashes as Hiei, ever so casually, as if he hadn't heard what the child had said, drew his sword, and quicker than lightning slashed it down towards the girl's throat.

The blade tip sunk deep in the earth, and a small foot whacked Hiei behind his right knee.

"You were pulling the swing, you schmuck," she snapped. "It's been five and a half months since I couldn't dodge your half-fast swing. You've been busting my butt for almost half a year to get as fast as you."

"You haven't made it yet, sweeting, so move faster," and he swung again, three times faster than before. Megumi ended up slipping down and swinging her foot into the side of his other knee. The joint buckled and he almost fell. She hopped to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Kama's being a douche cookie, isn't he?"

"A… douche cookie?"

"I heard Yusuke say that about him a few months ago. He's only getting worse. Have you guys been fighting?" She sank cross legged to the ground, looking up into her guardian angel's glacial ruby eyes, like frozen blood. She dunked her chin onto her fist and blinked slowly. She'd never felt the full weight of Hiei's gaze on her before. She didn't quite like it, but she refused to fidget.

"We have not fought."

"Have you done anything else? Talked? Kissed? Mated?"

Hiei felt something burning hot behind his eyes and clenched his fist tight. He didn't want to answer her question, but he didn't have to, he knew. He could tell by her gentle smile, her eyes soft and hurting. She held her hand up to take his, but he snatched it back.

"You guys need to talk, Hiei," she said softly. "Kurama wasn't all bad, and he's not all bad now. He just-"

"Megumi," Kurama snarled. She leapt to her feet and turned around to see her older brother glaring, his eyes like emerald knives slashing at her every vital part. He'd never looked at her that way before. He hissed, "Go back to the camp, Megumi."

"But, Kurama-"

The fox demon felt fury welling up inside him again. Why did she keep calling him by that name? Whatever happened to "Kama," and all the sweet things his little sister had always done that were so endearing? And WHY was Hiei poisoning her mind against him?

"Go, Megumi! Get back to camp!"

She huffed, shuffling through the dead leaves of the forest, kicking them and pebbles and mulch up around her. Her parting shot was, "Kama, you're a jerk!"

The kitsune turned to leave when Hiei called, almost angrily, "Kurama-"

"Go to hell, Hiei. And if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk trash about me to my baby sister." And he walked away. Hiei stared after him, feeling a jagged, breaking pain in his chest.

__

**oo8oo8oo8oo**

Uh-oh. Apparently over the past 5 months, something's gotten ahold of our favorite fox, and it's breaking the dynamic duo apart. Crap! What's gonna happen?

In the words of JunoMagic:

**Please feel free to leave a comment!**

_Anything at all:_ If you noticed a typo, if you don't like a characterization or description, if you thought a line especially funny or poignant or interesting, if there was anything you particularly enjoyed … I am really interested in what my readers think about my writing.

You can leave a public comment (signed or anonymous), though if you want me to respond to it, signed is best, OR send me a private message, though I do prefer comments and reviews.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Disclaimer/Author's Note:** don't own anything you recognize.


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